Time of flight animal monitoring

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for monitoring the movement of an animal. An animal transceiver unit is placed on the animal for transmitting and receiving signals. A base transceiver unit for transmitting and receiving signals relative to the animal transceiver unit is operated to monitor relative movement of the animal transceiver unit and the base transceiver unit. An indication of the relative distance between the base transceiver unit and the animal transceiver unit is provided in response to signal communication between the animal and base transceiver units.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/697,786, filed Feb. 1, 2010, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a system and method formonitoring movement of an animal and more particularly, but notexclusively to, a system and method for monitoring movement of ananimal, such as a pet, to control or confine the animal within aselected distance from a wireless monitoring unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Keeping an animal safely within the confines of one's property or withina selected area or range is very important. Unfortunately, giving ananimal room to move unsupervised requires barriers be constructed.Physical barriers such as fences or walls are often expensive,time-consuming to create, or unsightly. Common electronic animal controlmethods utilize a long buried antenna wire that acts as a proximitydetection system and border. When the animal's collar is located inproximity to the buried antenna wire, a collar is activated to encouragethe animal to retreat from the wire. These conventional systems oftenrequire an involved process of arranging and burying a lengthy antennawire around the area where an animal is to be confined. Once the antennawire is installed, it becomes for all practical purposes immobile andnot easily adjustable to a different position or location.

It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an animal control systemthat monitors or controls the movement of an animal but is otherwiseadjustable or portable. It would also be desirable to provide a systemthat can determine the distance between the animal and a base.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a system and method formonitoring the movement of an animal are provided. In a specificapplication, a method and system are provided for monitoring themovement of an animal to determine a distance that the animal is locatedaway from a base location that may either be stationary or moveable. Inan optional application, a system and method may be utilized forrestricting the movement of an animal by applying a stimulus to theanimal when the animal has moved to a control or threshold distance awayfrom the base station.

In a specific embodiment, an animal monitoring system may be providedwhich includes an animal transceiver unit for placement on an animal tobe monitored. The animal transceiver unit may include transceivercircuitry for transmitting and receiving signals, for example, RFsignals. The animal monitoring system may also include a basetransceiver unit, that may optionally be portable or stationary, foroperation to monitor relative movement or distance of the animaltransceiver unit. The base transceiver unit may include base transceivercircuitry for transmitting and receiving signals, for example, RFsignals, relative to the animal transceiver unit. At least one of theanimal transceiver unit and the base transceiver unit may be configuredto determine and/or provide an indicia of relative distance between theanimal transceiver unit and the base transceiver unit in response tosignal communication between the animal transceiver unit and the basetransceiver unit optionally to monitor relative movement between thebase transceiver unit and the animal transceiver unit.

Optionally, the base transceiver unit may include a base controllercircuit for controlling operation of the base transceiver unit.Likewise, the animal transceiver unit may optionally include an animalunit controller circuit for controlling operation of the animaltransceiver unit. Additionally, at least one of the controller circuitsmay optionally operate to provide a reference control distance, forexample, a boundary limit for the animal, and wherein at least one ofthe controller circuits may further operate to compare the relativedistance between the animal transceiver unit and the base transceiverunit with the reference control distance to produce an output controlsignal when the comparison meets a criteria for control, for example,when the animal reaches a boundary limit distance. In a particularembodiment, the controller circuit that operates to compare the relativedistance with the reference control distance may be the animal unitcontroller circuit.

The animal transceiver unit of the system may optionally include animalstimulus circuitry for providing a stimulus to the animal in response tothe output control signal. For example, the animal stimulus circuitrymay include shock generation circuitry for applying a shock to theanimal in response to the output control signal. Additionally, the shockgeneration circuitry may be adjustable to produce selected levels ofshock to the animal. Optionally, as an alternative to, or in addition tothe shock generation circuitry, the animal stimulus circuitry mayinclude an audible signal generator for producing an audible signal tothe animal in response to the output control signal.

The animal transceiver unit of the monitoring system may also optionallyinclude a motion detector for detecting movement of the animal in orderto power on or up selected circuitry of the animal transceiver unit toenable transmission and reception of signals relative to the basetransceiver unit. Optionally, the motion detector may also function todetect lack of movement of the animal to power down or off selectedcircuitry of the animal transceiver unit.

The base transceiver unit of the system may also optionally include auser input to enable a user to input information to the base transceiverunit which may be optionally under the control of the base controllercircuit. For example, the base controller circuit may function to enablethe reference control distance to be input to the base transceiver unitat the user input. In response, the base controller circuit may providethe reference control distance that is input at the user input forcomparison with the relative distance to produce an output controlsignal when the comparison meets a criteria for control, for example,when the relative distance equals or exceeds the reference controldistance.

The base transceiver unit of the system may optionally include an outputfor providing output information to a user. For example, the output mayprovide output information reflecting the indicia of the relativedistance between the base transceiver unit and the animal transceiverunit to the user. For example, the output may include a display, such asan LCD or LED display, for providing a visual display of outputinformation to the user and may function therefore to provide a visualdisplay of the indicia of the relative distance to the user. The outputmay, as an alternative to, or in addition to the display, include anaudible output for providing an audible indication when the indicia ofthe relative distance meets a selected criteria or as an alarm for theoccurrence of some other event such as a low battery signal from theanimal transceiver unit.

The animal monitoring system may also be configured so that at least oneof the animal transceiver unit and the base transceiver unit isconfigured to provide the indicia of the relative distance between thebase transceiver unit and the animal transceiver unit in real time andat least during relative movement of either one of the transceiver unitsrelative to the other transceiver unit.

In another embodiment of the invention, a system for restricting themovement of an animal may be provided having a base unit comprising atransceiver for broadcasting a wireless signal. An animal unit forplacement on an animal may be provided having a transceiver forreceiving the wireless signal from the base unit and having a stimulusgenerator for providing a stimulus to the animal. The animal unit mayfunction to interpret the signal received from the base unit todetermine the distance between the animal unit and the base unit. Theanimal unit may also function to signal the stimulus generator to applya stimulus to the animal when the distance between the animal unit andthe base unit reaches a threshold.

In accordance with the present invention, a method for monitoring aanimal is also provided. The method may include the steps of placing ananimal transceiver unit for transmitting and receiving signals on ananimal to be monitored and placing a base transceiver unit fortransmitting and receiving signals relative to the animal transceiverunit at a location for monitoring movement or distance between the basetransceiver unit and the animal transceiver unit. The method alsoincludes providing signal communications between the animal transceiverunit and the base transceiver unit and determining relative distancebetween the base transceiver unit and the animal transceiver unit inresponse to the signal communications between the animal transceiverunit and the base transceiver unit optionally to monitor the relativemovement between the base transceiver unit and the animal transceiverunit.

The method may also include an optional step of providing an outputreflecting the relative distance between the base transceiver unit andthe animal transceiver unit. The method may also include the step ofproducing an audible output, for example, at the base transceiver unit,in response to the output to provide an audible indication when therelative distance meets a selected criteria or in response to some othercriteria such as a low battery on the animal transceiver unit.Optionally, the method may also include the step of providing anindication of relative distance in real time and at least duringrelative movement of either one of the transceiver units relative to theother transceiver unit.

The method of monitoring the movement of an animal may also include thesteps of providing a reference control distance for the animal andcomparing the relative distance between the animal transceiver unit andthe base transceiver unit with the reference control distance.Optionally, a control output may be produced when the comparison meets acriteria for control. A stimulus may be applied to the animal inresponse to the control output. For example, the step of providing astimulus to the animal may include providing a shock to the animal inresponse to the control output and/or producing an audible signal to theanimal in response to the control output. Optionally, the step ofapplying a shock to the animal may include adjusting the level of shockso that a selected level of shock may be applied to the animal inresponse to the control output. The method may also include the step ofinputting a selected reference control distance to the base transceiverunit to enable the reference control distance that is input to becompared to the relative distance to produce the control output.

Optionally, the method may include detecting movement of the animal toenable the animal transceiver unit to transmit and receive signalsrelative to the base transceiver unit in response to movement of theanimal.

The method may also include an optional step of moving the basetransceiver unit in a direction relative to the animal control unituntil the relative distance decreases. Optionally, the method mayinclude the step of locating a lost animal by moving the basetransceiver unit relative to the animal transceiver unit until therelative distance decreases sufficiently until the base transceiver unitis moved to a proximity where an animal unit can be located.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary and the following detailed description of thepreferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understoodwhen read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an animal monitoring system inaccordance with the present invention utilizing a base transceiver unitand an animal transceiver unit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front elevational view of one embodiment of thebase transceiver unit that may be utilized in the animal monitoringsystem depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block circuit diagram of an embodiment of theanimal transceiver unit that may be utilized in the animal monitoringsystem depicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block circuit diagram of an embodiment of the basetransceiver unit that may be utilized in the animal monitoring systemdepicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of power supply circuitryfor the animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of controller circuitry forthe animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of transceiver circuitryfor the animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of motion detectorcircuitry for the animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of electrical shockcircuitry for the animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram for an embodiment of optional programmingcircuitry for the animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the oscillatorcircuitry or clock used in the controller circuitry shown in FIG. 6 forthe animal transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a block circuit diagram of an embodiment of the controllercircuitry for the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D are circuit diagrams of an embodiment of thecontroller circuitry respectively reflecting the four for differentquadrants of the controller circuitry depicted in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 is circuit diagram of an embodiment of the transceiver circuitryfor the base transceiver unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of a converter circuit forconverting digital logic levels of signals for communication between thecontroller circuitry and the transceiver circuitry of the basetransceiver unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of an output displaycircuit for the base transceiver unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 16, 17, 18 and 19 are circuit diagrams of an embodiment of thepower supply circuitry for the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of optional diagnosticvoltage monitoring circuitry for the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1and 2.

FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of optional diagnosticvoltage monitoring circuitry for the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1and 2.

FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of a user actutable inputfor the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of optional diagnosticcircuitry for the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of optional outputcommunications circuitry, such as a communications output port, for thebase transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 25A and 25B are diagrammatic flow charts of methods and processesfor the base transceiver unit of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 26A and 26B are diagrammatic flow charts of methods and processesfor the collar transceiver unit of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the Figures, an animal monitoring system, generallydesignated 50, is provided for detecting and monitoring the movement ofan animal, such as a dog, within a distance or area of monitoring. Morespecifically, referring to FIG. 1, the animal detection system 50includes an animal transceiver unit, generally designated 100, that maybe mountable upon an animal to be monitored. For example, the animaltransceiver unit 100 may be removeably attachable or mountable on ananimal collar to provide a collar transceiver unit. The animal detectionsystem 50 functions to monitor the movement of the animal transceiverunit 100 relative to a base transceiver unit 400 through signalcommunication between the animal transceiver unit 100 and the basetransceiver unit 400. Optionally, the signal communication may be in theform of wireless radio frequency signals (RF signals) transmitted andreceived between the animal and base units. In operation, the system 50will monitor the animal anywhere within the range limit 55 of thesystem. However, the system may operate to provide stimulus or controlsignals, such as a audible alarm (or alarms) or an electrical stimulussuch as an electrical shock, to the animal when the animal moves to orwithin the vicinity of a control boundary 60 which may optionally beadjustably set at a selected distance or area (or at areas or distances)from the base unit 400 anywhere within the range limit 55. When thecontrol boundary 60 is set at or near the range limit boundary 55, themaximum area or distance of control can be obtained, but the trade-offis that the system will lose track of the animal if the animal were tobreach the control boundary when set at or near the range limitboundary. Alternatively, if the control boundary 55 is set at a distanceshort of the limit boundary 60, the area or distance of control isreduced but the system will still monitor the animal if the controlboundary or distance is breached as long as the animal remains withinthe limit boundary. In an arrangement where the animal transceiver unitand the base transceiver unit each broadcast signals to the other, therange limit of communication will obviously be controlled by thebroadcast limit of the component, such as the animal transceiver unit,having the weakest broadcast range. The range may also be controlled,limited or set by a regulatory agency such as the Federal CommunicationCommission. In use, the system 50 will function to monitor relativemovement of the animal transceiver unit 100 and the base transceiveruntil 400 up to the range limit of transmission between the animal unit100 and the base unit 400.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base transceiver unit 400 functionsto communicate with the animal transceiver unit 100 using wirelesselectronic signals, such as a radio frequency signals, i.e., RF signals,to monitor relative movement between the collar transceiver unit 100 andthe base transceiver unit 400 within a range area or distance providedby the communication range limit between the collar transceiver unit 100and the base receiver unit 400, as shown, for example, by the outercircle 55 in FIG. 1. The outer signal transmission boundarycorresponding to the range limit 55 may be set, determined, or providedby the signal strength and transmission characteristics of the collartransceiver unit 100 and the base transceiver unit 400. The range limit55 is in essence the maximum distance between the animal unit 100 andthe base unit 400 at which communication can still be effected. Therange limit circle 55 shown in FIG. 1 shows one example of anequidistant range from antenna 471 of the base unit at whichcommunication with the animal unit may still be effected assuming thatthe base unit is held stationary. Of course, the base unit may beportable and therefore the communication range 55 relative to the baseunit can move as the base unit is moved. A control boundary or distance60 may be set between the collar transceiver unit 100 and the basetransceiver unit 400 in order to establish a desired boundary of controlfor controlling the animal. For practical purposes, the control boundary60 must be set within the outer transmission limit 55 of the animal andbase units 100 and 400. Preferably, however, the control boundary ordistance may be adjustable or can be set by the user to enable the userto select different distances or areas of monitoring.

In general operation, signal transmissions between the collartransceiver unit 100 and the base transceiver unit 400 function tomonitor movement of the animal to provide relative distance rangingbetween the collar transceiver unit 100 and the base transceiver unit400. When the animal transceiver unit 100 moves to within an actuationdistance from the control boundary 60, or in other words to a selecteddistance away from the base unit 400, the animal transceiver unit 100will function to detect the distance and apply a control stimulus, suchas an electrical shock or an audible alarm, to the animal in effort todeter further movement of the animal toward or beyond the controlboundary 60. The control stimulus may be applied in different manners.For example, the sound alarm may optionally be applied at one distancewhile the shock is applied at another distance, such as a furtherdistance, to permit the animal to respond to the audible alarm beforereceiving a shock signal if the animal is not deterred or controlled bythe audible alarm. Alternatively, both the audible stimulus and theshock stimulus may be applied simultaneously or in some other manner.Since the system monitors the distance between the animal unit 100 andthe base unit 400, the system can detect if the animal has already movedbeyond the control boundary thereby breaching such control boundary andis thereafter returning back within such boundary, i.e., within thecontrol distance from the base unit 400, so that the administration of ashock would not be desirable. An optional feature of the system 50 maybe employed to prevent any stimulus to the animal upon return of theanimal back into the confined area once the control boundary has beenbreached or crossed. Another optional feature where the shock may bedisabled or halted is when the animal has remained in or at the distanceor area of shock for too long. The system can measure either, the numberof shocks that have you administered to the animal within a selectedtime or measure the shock location. In response, the electrical stimuluscan be disabled until reset, or temporarily disabled, to prevent furthershocks.

The base transceiver unit 400 may preferably be a portable unit thatoperates under battery power as well as being able to operate underother forms of power input such as wall outlet or some other form of DCor AC power input. In addition, the base transceiver unit 400 mayoptionally be configured or programmed to monitor additional collartransceiver units at the same time. Since the base unit 400 is portable,movement of the base unit will correspondingly move the control distanceor area 60. Moving the control area 60 may be desirable if the confinedarea needs to be changed or moved, for example, from a back yard to aside yard or from a house to another location such as a park. In yetanother mode of operation, the base transceiver unit may also be movedrelative to the collar transceiver unit in order to help locate ananimal that has breached the limit boundary 55. For example, as the basetransceiver unit 400 is moved relative to the collar transceiver unit100, an output showing the relative change in distance between thecollar transceiver unit and the base transceiver unit may be displayedor provided to a user to enable the user within the limit boundary 60 tomake adjustments in movement so as to move closer toward the collartransceiver unit 100 until the animal is located. In order to find ananimal that has breached the limit boundary 55, the base unit 400 can bemoved in random or experimental paths, such as by foot or car, untilsignal communication is re-established. Then, the base unit can be movedin a direction that decreases the distance away from the animal unituntil the animal is located.

Referring to FIG. 2, the base transceiver unit 400 functions to transmitand receive communication signals such as radio frequency signals withthe animal transceiver unit 100. In order to provide dedicatedmonitoring between a base unit 400 and a respective animal unit 100, theanimal unit 100 or the base unit 400 may be programmed to monitor eachother but not other units. If multiple animal units 100 are to be usedsimultaneously, the base unit and the multiple animal units may beprogrammed for dedicated response to identifiable animal units.

The base transceiver unit 400, as shown in FIG. 2, includes a housing402 which may be in the form of a light weight protective housing toenable the housed circuit elements to be protected while also enablingthe unit 400 to be light enough to be easily and portably relocated todifferent areas such as a yard, a park, or other selected vicinity wherean owner may wish to monitor the location of an animal or pet. For thispurpose, the base transceiver unit 400 includes an outer housing 402preferably made of a protective material such as a hard, durable orrigid plastic material. The base receiver unit 400 also includes a userinput, generally designated 800, to enable a user to selectively inputinformation to the base transceiver unit 400. The user input 800 may bein the form of a keypad or an arrangement of push buttons S1, S2, S3,S4, S5. The input buttons may be arranged so that a central button S1may function as a power on and/or power off button as well as an ENTERbutton to enable a user to enter menu selections to the device. Theremaining buttons S2-S4 may be arranged and used to select differentmenu options or instructions or to increase or decrease various levels,or to provide other input entries to the device. To enable informationto be displayed to the user, such as programming information, entryinformation, input and/or output information, or other user informationsuch as low battery power or reception indicators, an output display 492may be provided. The output display 492 may be in the form of an LCD orLED display.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the base transceiver unit 400 may alsoinclude an antenna arrangement of one or more antennas 471 and 472 fortransmitting and/or receiving communication signals relative to theanimal transceiver unit 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the base transceiverunit 400 may include a pair of antennas 471 and 472 that may bepositioned apart either physically or electronically at a selectedfractional wave length of transmission such as a half wavelength inorder to help avoid a null signal or a null in reception or transmissionrelative to the animal transceiver unit 100. The device 400 may alsoinclude a power jack or power port 403, as shown in phantom on the backof the unit, to enable the unit to be plugged into an external source ofpower such as an AC power source, such as a home outlet, or to externalDC source such as a car adapter for connection to the car battery.Preferably, the unit 400 may also include rechargeable batteries thatmay be recharged through the external power source. The base unit 400may also include a reset port 404, as shown in phantom on the back ofthe unit, to enable the unit to be reset, for example, for new oralternative programming instructions to be input. A power switch mayalso be provided to turn the unit on and/or off. The power switch may beprovided as a separate switch or may be programmed to be one of the pushbuttons such as button S1 for example. The base unit 400 and/or collarunit 100 may be programmed so that the base unit 400 only communicateswith specifically dedicated or programmed animal units 100.

The animal transceiver unit 100 is preferably configured to be mountableon an animal such as by removable attachment onto an animal collar asshown in FIG. 1. The animal transceiver unit 100 functions tocommunicate with the base transceiver unit 400 in order to monitormovement of the animal unit 100 relative to the base transceiver unit400. For this purpose, as generally shown in FIG. 3, the animaltransceiver unit 100 includes controller circuitry 140 that utilizes acontroller or processor 146 that functions to control the operation ofthe animal transceiver unit. The animal transceiver unit 100 includes aninternal power supply 120, such as a battery 121, preferably arechargeable battery, removeably held in a battery receptacle area. Theinternal power supply 120 may include a battery 121 that iselectronically connected or coupled with a voltage regulator 130 toconvert the battery voltage VBAT, or a voltage VDD derived from VBAT, toa desired useable output voltage such as voltage VCC for the operationof certain circuitry of the animal receiver unit, such as the controllercircuitry 140.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 3, the animal receiver unit 100 may alsoinclude a motion detector, generally designated 180, for detectingmotion of the dog. The Motion Detector may also operate at VCC. Upondetection of motion of the dog, the motion detection circuitry 180 mayfunction to awaken the controller 146 from a sleep mode of operation andto power up the necessary or selected circuitry of the collar receiverunit from a reduced power consumption mode of operation. When the motiondetector circuitry 180 detects that the dog is no longer moving, ormoving below a certain range or degree of motion, the motion detectioncircuitry 180 may function to cause the controller 146 to go to sleepand to power down unnecessary or selected circuitry, or to slow downoperation of selected circuitry, in order to conserve battery power.More specifically, the motion detector circuitry 180 may include amotion sensor 182 in the form of a motion vibrator which functions toproduce an electrical signal in response to a selected amount ofmovement of the vibrator 182 in response to the motion of the animalunit 100 on a dog. The electrical signal produced by the vibrator may besupplied to an amplifier 184 for amplifying the motion detection signal.The amplified motion detection signal provided by the amplifier 184 maythen be supplied to a comparator 186 to enable a motion output 183 toproduce a motion output signal when the amplified motion detectionsignal produced at the output of the amplifier 184 exceeds a selectedvibration threshold level supplied by vibration control circuitry 188 asthe threshold input to the compactor 186. In this regard, the vibrationcontrol circuitry 188 can be utilized to set a certain amount or degreeof motion before enabling a motion output signal at the output of thecomparator 186. In this regard, the vibration control circuitry 188 canbe utilized to enable motion detection to be set a level above themotion produced by a normal bark or a single head wag or some otherselected criteria of movement so that a motion output signal is notproduced. The motion output signal is supplied to the controller 146 toenable the controller to awaken from a sleep mode and to power upselected operating circuitry of the animal transceiver unit 100. Thecontroller 146 may also function to time the motion output signal beforepowering up or measuring the speed of desired circuitry. If motion isnot detected, the motion output signal will change parameter, such asgoing from High to Low, to indicate to the controller 146 that motion isnot being detected. Based on selected criteria, such as lack of motionfor a selected time, the processor 146 may go to sleep and power lowselected circuitry to conserve power.

In operation, the controller 146 includes a clock in the form of crystal148 for effecting the timing of the controller 146. In addition,programming pins and circuitry 220 may be connected with the controller146 in order to provide an input area for providing programminginstructions to the controller 146.

In operation, the controller circuitry 140 under control of thecontroller 146 communicates with signal communication circuitry 160preferably in the form of a signal transceiver such as an RF signaltransceiver 162. The transceiver circuitry 160 may operate at voltageVCC. The transceiver circuitry 160 includes an RF transceiver circuit orchip 162 that functions to transmit and receive RF communication signalsrelative to the base transceiver unit in order to monitor and controlthe movement of the animal relative to the base transceiver unit 400.The transceiver chip 162 functions through RF communications with thebase unit 400 to calculate a distance between the animal unit 100 andthe base unit 400 in real time. The transceiver chip may preferablyfunction to calculate such distance using time of flight transmissionsbetween the animal and the base unit to calculate real time distance,including changing distances, between the animal and base units. Inorder to transmit and receive the signals, the RF transceiver circuit162 is connected with an antenna circuit 164 that enables RF signals tobe transmitted to and from the animal transceiver unit 100 relative tothe base transceiver unit 400.

In order to confine an animal within a desired boundary area ordistance, an audible alarm 205 may be provided. The audible alarm 205 iscontrolled by the controller to produce an audible signal in the form ofan audible control stimulus to the animal when the signal transceiver160 detects that the animal has neared, approached or breached thecontrol boundary 60 set or provided for the animal at a selecteddistance from the base transceiver unit 400. In addition, an electricalstimulus, such as a shock may also be provided to the animal as afurther detriment to approaching, nearing, or breaching the desiredcontrol boundary. For this purpose, shock circuitry 200 is provided asan additional animal control stimulus. The shock circuitry 200 operatesunder the control of the controller 146. The shock circuitry 200includes a shock transformer device TF1 in the form of a coil forexample that includes a secondary coil having electrodes positioned ator in contact with the animal for delivery of a small shock to theanimal in response to current flow through the primary coil. In order toprovide different levels of shock, a shock level control circuitry 211may be provided to enable the user to select different shock levels. Forexample, the shock level control may utilize a series of digitalswitches, such as switching transistors, to provide a series of discreetshock levels. In order to activate the shock transformer device into ashock activation mode to apply an electric stimulus to the animal,switching circuit 210 is provided that operates under control of thecontroller 146. The switching circuit may function with the controllerto enable a shock stimulus to an animal when the animal nears or reachesthe control boundary 60 and a sufficient level of charge has been storedto achieve the desired level of shock. The controller 146 may also beprogrammed for a fail safe mode to prevent further shocks from beingdelivered after a time period, such as 10 or 20 seconds, even though theanimal remains in the shock vicinity of the control boundary. The shockcircuitry 200 and the alarm 205 may operate at VBAT or VDD.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the base transceiver unit 400, generallyschematically shown in block diagram, includes a controller circuitry450 utilizing a controller 455 for controlling the operation of the basetransceiver unit 400. An oscillator or clock 458, which may be providedas a part of the controller circuitry 450, is connected or coupled withthe controller 455 to time the controller. A reset 457, which may beprovided as a part of the controller circuitry 450, is available toreset operation or programming instructions for the controller 455. Inorder to provide manual or user input to the controller, input switches800, for example, in the form of push button switches, are provided toenable the user to depress a selected switch button to provideinstruction or input to the controller 455. A programming port 459 isprovided to enable programming instructions to be provided to thecontroller 455. An output display 490 is provided on the basetransceiver unit 400 in order to provide a display of information to auser. The output display 490 may be in the form of an LCD display whichmay further optionally include an LED backlight. An audible output 456is also provided under the control of the controller 455 to provideaudible output signals at the base transceiver unit 400. For thispurpose, the audible output 456 may be in the form of a speaker or abeeper to signal at the base unit. For example, the speaker 456 may beenabled by the controller 455 to provide an audible alarm that theanimal has moved into the vicinity of or within a selected distance ofthe control boundary 60 so as to therefore provide an early warningsignal to a user monitoring the base unit 400. Alternatively or inaddition, the audible output 456 may provide an audible signal at thebase unit to reflect that a stimulus, such as a shock or audible alarm,has been administered by the collar unit 100 or that the collar unit hasmoved into the vicinity of or has breached the control boundary 60.Still further, the base unit 400 may also provide an audible signalreflecting a low or dead battery on the collar unit 100 or an audiblesignal that no reception signal from the collar unit 100 is beingreceived, for example, if the collar unit 100 has moved into a dead zonewithin the control boundary 60 or has moved beyond the transmissionlimit 50. Communication circuitry 700 is also provided to enableexternal communications. For example, the communication circuitry 700may be in the form of a RS232 port and associated circuitry or a USBport and associated circuitry or some other external communications jackor port.

In order to effect communications between the base controller unit 400and the animal transceiver unit 100, the base transceiver unit 400includes signal communication circuitry, generally designated 460. Thesignal communication circuitry 460 may include a signal transceivercircuit 470 preferably in the form of an RF transceiver chip whichfunctions to provide RF signal communications via a signal antennaoptionally in the form of an antenna pair, antenna 1 and antenna 2, 471and 472. The RF transceiver 470 functions to process and communicate RFsignals relative to the animal unit and may therefore be used tocalculate the distance between the animal and base units. The RFtransceiver 470 operates with the controller 455 to effect antennaactivation switch through antenna activation circuitry 478 as enabled byantenna selection switch 479 under the control of the controller 455.The antenna selection switch may 479 be operated to activate antenna 1or antenna 2 in response to the respective antenna receiving thestrongest or most usable signal from the animal transceiver unit 100. Inthe event that the controller 455 and the RF transceiver 470 operate atdifferent digital logic levels, a voltage converter 620 may be utilizedto convert the voltage signals from the controller to the appropriatesignal level used by the RF transceiver and to likewise convert thevoltage levels of the signal from the RF transceiver to the appropriatesignal levels for the controller. For example, the voltage converter 620may be utilized to convert a relatively higher digital voltage level ofVDD utilized by the controller to a relatively lower digital voltagelevel VCC utilized by the RF transceiver and to convert a relativelylower digital voltage of VCC utilized by the transceiver to a relativelyhigher digital voltage level VDD used by the controller.

In order to supply power to the circuitry of the base transceiver unit400, power supply circuitry, generally designated 480, is provided. Ingeneral, a power jack J1 may be provided for connection to an externalsource of either AC or DC power. In order to prevent damage to thecircuitry of the base transceiver unit 400, a fuse F1 is provided. Afilter 483 may be provided to filter signals between the power jack andthe operating circuitry of the base transceiver unit 400. In thisrespect, for example, the filter 483 may be in the form a RF noisefilter to prevent RF noise from leaking back to the input jack J1. Avoltage or power transient suppressor ZNR1 may be provided in the formof a ZENER diode. To enable an AC power source to be connected with thepower jack J1, an AC to DC bridge 481 may be provided to convert the ACpower supplied at the jack to DC power for use by the circuitry. Avoltage regulator or converter 482 is provided to convert the variousinput voltages that may be supplied to the converter 481 to a useableoutput voltage. For example, the regulator 482 may be used to convert avoltage input range of about 6 to 35 volts to a desired output voltageof about 5.6 volts. The output of the regulator 482 is supplied directlyor indirectly to a charge controller circuit 484 which connects with abattery circuit 483 in order to supply charging power to a rechargeablebattery connected at the battery circuit 483. Optionally, the output ofthe regulator may also be supplied through a supplemental chargercircuit 1483 for supplying charging voltage to a supplemental or extrarechargeable battery removeably stored within the unit. The chargecontroller circuit 484 also functions to permit the rechargeable batteryat the battery circuit 483 to be used as a power source for thecircuitry of the base transceiver unit 400 in the event that no externalpower source is connected at power jack J1 or an external power sourceis disconnected at jack J1 to enable the base unit 400 to becomeportable. The output from the charge controller circuit 484 may be inthe range of 3.6 to 4.2 colts depending on the voltage input. The outputfrom the charge controller circuit 484 is supplied to a converter 485 toprovide a uniform output voltage, such as VDD, for use by certaincircuitry in the base unit The output from the converter 485 is suppliedthrough a power on switching circuitry 488 which may be under thecontrol of an input switch 800 such as a push button S1. For example,depressing S1 for a selected time may function to switch on power tooperate the controller and certain circuitry of the base transceiverunit 400. Optionally, depression of the push button S1 for a moreextended time period such as 5 seconds after the unit is already on mayfunction to enable the unit to power off under the control of thecontroller. The output from the converter 485 is also supplied to avoltage regulator circuit 600 in order to convert the output voltage ofthe converter 485, such as voltage VDD, to another useable outputvoltage such as voltage VCC. The converter 600 may optionally beconnected to the output of the converter 485 through the power onswitching circuitry 488, as shown in FIG. 4. The power on switchingcircuitry 488 functions when switched or powered on to supply voltagessuch as VDD and VCC to the operating circuitry. For example, the displaycircuitry 490 and the controller circuitry 450 may utilize voltage VDDwhile the transceiver circuitry 470 utilize voltage VDD. Variousdiagnostic circuitries and monitoring circuitry may also optionally beprovided.

Considering the circuitry of the animal transceiver unit 100 in greaterdetail as shown in FIGS. 5-11, the collar transceiver unit 100 includesa power supply circuit, generally designated 120, as shown in FIG. 5.The power supply 120 includes a portable power source such as a battery121, a 3.6 volt VBAT rechargeable battery, to supply power to thecircuitry of the collar transceiver unit 100. As shown in FIG. 5, thepower supply 120 includes a battery receptacle having contacts forreceiving a 3.6 volt battery at the B+ and B− terminals. From the B+terminal, the battery is connected to an isolation transistor 126 thatin the form of transistor Q6 functions to protect against inadvertentinsertion of the battery in the reserve direction. If the battery isinserted incorrectly, the transistor 126 will not turn ON therebypreventing an inadvertent connection of the erroneously reversed batterywith a voltage regulator 130. The transistor 126 is in turn connectedwith filters 128 and 129 in the form of large cap and small capcapacitors C18 and C5, respectively. The large cap capacitor 128functions to filter low frequency disturbances at the battery such ascaused by administering an electrical stimulus to the animal, activatingthe buzzer, or during transmissions by the transceiver circuitry. Thesmall cap capacitor 129 functions to filter against high frequency noisesuch as caused by the clock for the microprocessor and synthesizers inthe transceiver. After the filtering circuitry, a voltage regulator 130is provided in the form of converter chip U4. The voltage VBAT from thebattery produces a voltage VDD at the input of the converter 130. Thevoltage regulator 130 functions to convert voltage VDD supplied from thebattery at the input of the converter for use in certain circuitry ofthe collar unit to a useable voltage output, VCC, for use in othercircuitry of the collar transceiver unit. A battery having an outputvoltage VBAT of about 3.6 volts provides a useable voltage, VDD, ofabout 3.2 DC volts at the input of the regulator 130 for use withcertain circuit components. The regulator 130 functions to convert theuseable input voltage VDD, of about 3.2 volts, to a useable outputvoltage VCC, of about 2.5 volts, which may be used to power othercircuit elements. The voltage regulator 130 also provides anunder-voltage lock out to prevent the output of any voltage if thebattery voltage dips below 2.6 volts. The voltage output lock functionsto protect the battery in the event that the battery voltage dips belowa predetermined voltage, such as 2.6 volts. This is a desirable featureparticularly if lithium ion batteries are utilized because there is atendency that such batteries will become ruined if such batteriesdischarge below a certain level. A filter 135 in the form of capacitorC7 is provided at the output of the voltage regulator 130 in order tostabilize the DC output voltage VCC at approximately 2.5 volts.

The animal transceiver unit 100 also includes controller circuitry orprocessor circuitry 140 having a microprocessor or controller 146 forcontrolling the operation of the animal transceiver limit as shown inFIG. 6. In general, the controller circuitry 140 communicates withtransceiver circuitry 160 as shown in FIG. 7. The transceiver circuitryoperates to effect electronic signal communications, such as RF signalcommunications, between the animal transceiver unit 100 and the basetransceiver unit 400. The controller circuitry 140 also operablycommunicates with motion detection circuitry 180 as shown in FIG. 8. Themotion detection circuitry functions to detect when the animal is inmotion or at rest in part to effect control by the controller circuitryover battery life. If the motion detection circuitry 180 detects thatthe animal is in motion then the processor 146 may be awoke and certainoperational circuitry powered up. As an additional or alternativeoption, the frequency of communication may be increased between the baseunit 400 and the circuit unit 100 to more quickly calculate or determinethe relative distance between the base unit and the animal unit.However, if the motion detection circuit 180 detects that the animal isat rest or is not moving beyond a threshold or degree of movement ortime, or both, then the processor 146 may go to sleep and certainoperational circuitry may be powered down. The controller circuitry 140also communicates with animal control circuitry that includes shockgeneration circuitry 200 as shown in FIG. 9 and audible stimuluscircuitry 205 as shown in FIG. 6. The animal control circuitry functionsto provide correction stimulus or signals to the animal under selectedconditions. The animal correction circuitry for example functions toprovide tone or shock signals, or both, for correction of the animal.

Turning more specifically to the controller circuitry 140 of the animalunit 100 as shown in FIG. 6, a microcontroller 146 is provided in theform of a microprocessor U1, an Atmel Mega 644 processor chip. Themicroprocessor 146 is connected at lines XTAL1 and XTAL2 with a clock inthe form of a crystal 148, as shown in FIG. 11, in order to controltiming of the microprocessor 146. The microprocessor is also connectedwith the power supply 120 at VCC to supply operating voltage VCC to theprocessor 146. The processor 146 also functions to monitor the voltageVDD of the power supply that is used to power the shocking circuitry 200and the speaker circuitry 205 and performs, for example, operationsrelated to the detection of low battery signals, such as actuating thespeaker 206 of the speaker circuitry 205 when the battery voltages dropsbelow a certain level.

The microprocessor 146 is also connected with the transceiver circuitry160, as shown in FIG. 7, to control operation of the transceivercircuitry and to control signal communications been the transceivercircuitry 160 and the base transceiver unit 400. The transceivercircuitry 160 of the animal transceiver unit 100 includes a transceiverchip 162 in the form of nanoPAN 5375 chip U5. The transceiver chip 162provides signal communications in the form of RF signals through antenna164. The transceiver chip 162 includes internal transceiver circuitrythat is configured to transmit an output through a 20 db outputamplifier to boost the output signal. The internal transceiver circuitryis also configured to be connected or switched to a receiving positionin order to receive input signals such as RF signals transmitted fromthe base transceiver. In order to conserve power, the antenna 164 isconnected with the transceiver chip 160 through an impedance matchingnetwork 165. In order to effect communication between the processor 146and the transceiver chip 162, the processor 146 sends a slave selectsignal over line SPISSN to transceiver chip 162. At power up, a power onreset signal is sent from the processor 146 to the transceiver chip 162over the PONRESET line. Interrupt requests and reset signals are alsocommunicated from the processor 146 to the transceiver chip 162 over theVCIRQ and UCRESET lines respectively. A clock signal from the processor146 is also supplied to the transceiver chip 162 over SPICLK line.Transmission and reception signals are supplied between the processor146 and the transceiver 162 over transmission line SPITXD and receptionline SPIRXD. Power is supplied to the transceiver chip 162 at the VCCpins.

As shown in FIG. 8, the microprocessor 146 also communicates with themotion detector circuitry 180 along the MOTION line. The Motion sensorcircuitry 180 functions to detect movement of the animal on which theanimal unit 100 is monitored or carried and serves to provide an outputsignal along the MOTION line to the microprocessor 146. Themicroprocessor 146 is coupled with the motion sensor circuitry in orderto control operations of the animal transceiver unit in response to thedetection of motion or lack of motion by the animal. The motion sensorcircuitry 180 of the animal transceiver unit 100 operates to detectmotion or lack of motion of the animal transceiver unit 100 through amotion detector element 182 in the form of a piezzo transducer VS1. Themotion detector element 182 is connected to an amplifier circuit 184that includes amp U8 to provide an amplified output signal which issupplied to an input of a comparator circuit 186 that includescomparator U9. The compactor U9 compares the output from the amplifierto a reference level to generate an output when the amplified signalexceeds the reference level. The output from the comparator is suppliedto switch transistor Q7 which functions to switch ON in response to aHIGH output from the comparator circuit 186. In addition, a voltagedivider circuit 188 is provided as type of violation control circuit tosupply a selected voltage to the amplifier 184 at pin 4 of U8 and aselectable reference voltage to the comparator 186 at pin 4 of U9. Thereference voltage supplied to comparator U9 may be adjustable. Forexample, the processor 146 may control and selectively change theresistance of Resistor 44 of the voltage divider to vary and control thereference voltage supplied to pin 4 of U9. In operation, when the motiondetector element 182 senses movement of the dog, a voltage is producedby the transducer 182 and is supplied to the input of the amplifier atpin 3 of U8. The voltage produced by the motion detector element 182 isamplified by amplifier 184 and supplied as an amplified output signalfrom the output of the amplifier to the input pin 3 of comparator U9.When the voltage of the input pin 3 of U9 exceeds the reference voltageat pin 4 of U9 the output of U9 goes HIGH which turns switch transistorQ7 ON which in turn causes the output capacitor 189 to discharge whichcreates a digital logic LOW supplied on MOTION line to themicroprocessor 146 so that the microprocessor detects that there hasbeen movement of the dog. When there is no motion, or relatively littlemotion, by the dog, the motion detector element 182 produces no output,or a minimal output that is below a selected threshold, that is suppliedto the amplifier 184. The signal provided at input pin 3 of theamplifier unit U8, whether a zero output or a minimal level signal, isamplified by the amplifier and supplied to the input pin 3 of thecomparator U9. If the input supplied at input pin 3 of the comparator U9is below the reference voltage supplied at pin 4 of U9 then the outputfrom the comparator will be LOW. The LOW output from the comparator U9is then supplied to the gate of the switch transistor Q7 which turns OFFor keeps transistor Q7 OFF thereby maintaining the charge on thecapacitor 189. By maintaining the charge on the capacitor 189, a digitalHIGH signal is then supplied along the MOTION line to the microprocessor146 thereby instructing the microprocessor 146 that the dog is at restand not in motion. Furthermore, the internal capacitance of the motiondetector element 182 combined with resistor R46 function together withresistor R47 and R48 and compacitors C23 and C24 to provide a band passresponse. Specifically, the band pass response is centered around 10 hzin order to prevent detection of non-significant movement such ascreated by panting, barking or ambient noise. The reference level of thecomparator U9 may also be adjusted higher to help prevent switchingtransistor Q7 from turning ON in response to movements below a desiredthreshold.

As shown in FIG. 10, an optional programming circuit 220 is provided toeffect communication with the controller circuitry to enable the entryof programming information or instructions to the controller 146. Theprogramming circuit 220 may be provided in the form of a series ofprogramming pins TP1-TP8 to enable programming information to besupplied to the microprocessor 146, along lines TDI, TMS, TDO, TCK, PD1and PD2.

The microprocessor 146 is also connected with and communicates with theanimal control circuitry 200 and 205 in order to provide output controlstimulus to the animal. For example, the controller functions to controloutput of an audible signal from audible sound or alarm generatorcircuit 205, as shown in FIG. 6, and of an electric stimulus to theanimal in the form of an electrical shock produced by shock generatorcircuit 200 by energizing the primary coil TF 1 which in turn causes thesecondary coil probes that contact the animal to apply a shock to theanimal. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the microprocessor 146functions to produce an audible output through the speaker 206 of thespeaker circuitry 205 over the BEEP line. A HIGH output on the BEEP lineturns ON switch transistor Q5 that activates speaker 206 through VDD toproduce an audible output to the animal. The controller circuitry 146also functions to generate an electric stimulus to the animal over theZAP line, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9. When a shock is to be administered,the controller outputs a ZAP signal over the ZAP line.

Turning more specifically to the shock circuitry 200, as shown in FIG.9, is used to provide an electrical stimulus or correction to theanimal, a boost switching converter circuit 209 is provided in the formof chip U6, chip LT1316 manufactured by Linear Technologies. The boostswitching converter circuit 209 functions to convert the input voltageof approximately VDD or 3.2 volts produced at the power supply circuit120 and supplied at pin 6 into an output voltage at pin 5, optionally ofdiscreet selectable levels, for example, between 3.6 volts and 12 voltsto generate a selected level of shock to the animal. The use ofdifferent levels of output from the convertor 209 at pin 5 may be usedto selectively generate different levels of shock to the animal. Morespecifically, the output voltage from the boost switching converter 209is supplied through diode D1 to the shock discharge capacitor C21. Thelevel of the output voltage may be adjustable by the user. For example,the FB pin of the chip U6 may be switched to ground through differentbut selectable levels of resistance to achieve discreet levels ofvoltage output for supply to discharge capacitor C21 to achieveselectable shock levels of different magnitude. In order to provide anadjustable or selectable output voltage, three MOSFET switch transistorsQ2, Q3, and Q4 function with the boost switching convertor circuit 209to provide shock level control circuitry 211. The microprocessor 146 isconnected with each of the transistors Q2, Q3, and Q4 over lines FB00,FB01, and FB 02, respectively, in order to provide a series of eightdifferent levels of shock output to be applied to the animal throughshocking coil TF1. When conditions are met to require a shock to beapplied to the animal, the microprocessor 146 provides an output signalover the ZAP line to power switch 210 in the form of chip U7, chipIRF7459, which turns switch U7 ON to allow current to flow through theshocking coil TF1 and switch U7 to provide the desired level of shock tothe animal as determined by shock level signals supplied from thecontroller 146 to switch transistors Q2, Q3 and Q4 over lines FB00-FB02.As such, a series of selectable voltages levels may be supplied throughshocking coil TF1 to provide controls over the level of shock to theanimal. In order to conserve battery power, the microcontroller 146 isconnected with the converter 209 through SHDN line. The SHDN linefunctions to turn the converter 209 off when animal correction is beingutilized in order to conserve battery power. The converter 209 alsocommunicates with the microprocessor 146 over a SWITCH COMPLETE line.The SWITCH COMPLETE line is utilized by the converter 209 to signal tothe microprocessor when a desired output voltage has been obtained forsupply to the shock coil TF1.

Referring now to the base station circuitry 400, as shown in greaterdetail in FIGS. 12-24, a controller circuit 450, as shown in FIGS. 12,12A, 12B, 12C and 12D, is provided to control operation of the basetransceiver circuitry. The controller circuitry 450 is connected withand communicates with transceiver circuitry generally designated 470, asshown in FIG. 13, that operates to provide electronic signalcommunications, such as wireless RF signal communications with theanimal transceiver unit 100. The transceiver circuitry 470 provides timeof flight ranging so that wireless communication between the base unit400 and the animal transceiver unit 100 enables real time calculation ordetermination of a relative distance between the base transceiver unit400 and the collar transceiver unit 100 carried on the animal andfunctions to enable real time calculation or determination of therelative distance between the animal unit 100 and the base unit 400 evenwhen one unit is moved toward or away from the other unit. Thecontroller circuit 450 includes a microprocessor or controller 455 inthe form of chip U1, an Atmel Mega 128 microprocessor chip. Thecontroller 455 is connected at lines XTAL1 AND XTAL2 with a clock in theform of a crystal 458, as shown in FIG. 12A, in order to control timingof the microprocessor 455. The microprocessor is powered by voltage VDDsupplied, for example, at pins VCC, as shown in FIG. 12A.

The controller 455 is also connected with transceiver circuitry 470, asshown in FIG. 13, to control operation of the transceiver circuitry andto control signal communications between the transceiver circuitry 470and the animal transceiver unit 100. The transceiver circuitry 470 ofthe base transceiver unit 400 includes a transceiver circuit 475 in theform of transceiver chip U5, a nanoPAN 5375 chip. The transceiver chip475 provides signal communications in the form of RF signal throughantennas 471 and 472, Antenna 1 and Antenna 2. The transceiver chip 475includes internal transceiver circuitry that is configured to transmitan output through a 20 db output amplifier to boost the output signal.The internal transceiver circuitry is also configured to be connected orswitched to a receiving position in order to receive input signals suchas RF signals transmitted from the animal transceiver unit. Voltage VCCis supplied to the transceiver chip 475 at the VCC pin.

In order to provide electrical signal communication between thecontroller 455 of the controller circuitry 450 and the transceiver chip475 of the transceiver circuitry 470, a logic level converter circuit620, as shown in FIG. 14, may be needed. The logic level convertercircuitry 620 functions to convert signals between the controller 455and the transceiver 475 to different voltage logic levels for anembodiment in which the controller 455 and the transceiver 475 aredesigned or configured to operate at different digital logic levels.More specifically, the controller unit 455 may operate at VDD or 3.2volts whereas the transceiver unit 475 may operate at VCC or 2.5 volts.In order to provide communications between the two units, the logiclevels need to be converted between the 2.5 volt logic communicationlevel of the transceiver chip 475 and the 3.2 volt logic level used bythe controller 455. For this purpose one or more converter chips 621 and622 in the form of chips U2 and U3, chip SN74AVC4T245, are utilized toprovide sufficient conversion channels or lines to enable appropriateconversion of signals to and from the controller chip 455 and thetransceiver chip 475.

In order to effect communication between the processor 455 and thetransceiver chip 475, the processor 455 sends a slave select signal overline SPISSN to transceiver chip 475. At power up, a power on resetsignal is set from the processor 455 to the transceiver chip 475 overthe PONRESET line. Interrupt requests and reset signals are alsocommunicated from the processor 455 to the transceiver chip 475 overVCIRQ and UCRESET lines respectively. When a converter 620 is utilized,the communication lines between the processor 455 and the transceiverchip 475 are connected and converted through the converter 620. Forexample, the interrupt request that is sent from the transceiver 475over the UCIRQ line is converted by the converter 620 and supplied tothe processor 455 over the PE4 line. A clock signal from the processor455 is also supplied to the transceiver chip 475 over the CPICLK line.Transmission and reception signals are supplied between the processor146 and the transceiver 162 over transmission line SPITXD and receptionline SPIRXD.

As shown in FIG. 15, the controller circuitry 450 also communicates withand is connected with display circuitry 490, that may be in the form ofan LCD display 492, to display information to the user. For example, theoutput display may display such information as a selected distancecontrol boundary such as 150 feet, the actual distance that the animaltransceiver unit 100, e.g., the animal, is located from the basetransceiver unit 400, various messaging data such as battery status andboundary challenge or boundary violation notifications, communicationstatus between the animal transceiver and the base transceiver unitssuch as an existing communications link or the loss of such link as wellas other information such as user menu selection items or low batteryindication. Optionally, one or more LED backlight displays may beoperated using LED1 and LED2 lines connected with the controller 455 andthe LCD display 492 through switches 492 and 493 in the form ofswitching transistors Q6 and Q7. When LED1 line goes HIGH from thecontroller 455, transistor Q6 is turned ON and the first LED arrangementis illuminated. Likewise, when LED2 goes HIGH from the controllertransistor Q7 is turned ON and the second LED arrangement isilluminated. One of the LED lines may be used to simply turn on and offa selected color of backlight. The other LED line may be utilized toprovide a multicolor display depending on information received by theLCD display from the microprocessor unit. The LCD display 492 is poweredby voltage VDD.

The base transceiver unit 400 also includes power supply circuitry 480,as shown in FIGS. 16-19, for supplying power to the operationalcircuitry of the base transceiver unit. Diagnostic voltage monitoringcircuitry 500, as shown in FIG. 20, may also be provided to enable thecontroller circuitry 450 to monitor selected voltage levels in thecircuitry. For example, diagnostic voltage monitoring circuitry 500 maybe provided to monitor a voltage level, such as 5.6 volts, used tosupply adequate voltage to voltage chargers 484 and 1483 for battery 1and for battery 2 respectively. Similarly, diagnostic voltage monitoringcircuitry 502, as shown in FIG. 21, may be provided for monitoring avoltage level of VDD, such as 3.2 volts. The power supply circuitry 480also includes power ON switching circuitry 488, as shown in FIG. 18, forSWITCHING the supply of an operating voltage, such as VDD, on or off tooperating circuitry of the unit 400. A voltage regulator circuitry 600,as shown in FIG. 19, is provided and may potentially be connected withor coupled to the power ON switching circuitry 488, in order to convertone operating voltage, such as VDD or 3.2 volts to another operatingvoltage, such as VCC or 2.5 volts. In operation, the voltage VDD may beused to operate the controller circuitry 450 and the display circuitry490 while voltage VCC is used to operate the transceiver circuitry 470.In order to turn the unit ON, the S1 switch on line PSBT1 may bedepressed for a selected period of time. Optionally, to turn the unit400 OFF, the S1 switch on line PSBT1 may be pressed while the unit is ONand held for a selected extended time period such as five seconds.

In order to provide user input to the controller 455, a user input 800is provided, as shown in FIG. 22. The user input circuitry may be in theform of a series of user actuated push buttons S, S2, S3, S4, and S5 onlines PSBT1-PSBT5 to provide selected user inputs to the controller chip455. Other forms of inputs may also be provided such as a keyboard orother manual or electronic entry device.

In order to provide programming instructions to the controller chip 455,programming circuitry 456 is provided, for example, through a JTAG port,as shown in FIG. 12C. The JTAQG port is operably connected with thecontroller unit 455 to enable programming instructions to be supplied tothe controller chip 455.

In order to enable selected diagnostics to be performed, diagnosticcircuitry 820, as shown in FIG. 23, may also be provided incommunication with the controller chip 455 and or the transceiver chip475. More specifically, the diagnostic circuitry 820 may be in the formof pads TP1-TP4 operably connected with the controller chip 455 at linesPA0 and PA1 and with the transceiver chip 475 at the TX/RX-N.

Optionally, as show in FIG. 24, an output communication circuit 700 mayalso be provided to enable connection with external devices such as acomputer. For example, the output communication circuitry may serve toprovide a communications port in the form of an RS232 port. Optionally,another communications port may be provided in addition to the RS232port or as an alternative to the RS232 port such as a USB port or someother similar type of communication port.

An audible signal generator 456 provides an audio speaker or otheraudible enunciator P1 in operable connection with the processor chip 455to enable audible or audio announcements to be made. For this purpose, aspeaker P1 is connected with the microprocessor 455 through the BEEPline. In order to produce a sound over the speaker, the controller 455produces a HIGH on the BEEP line that is supplied to the gate of aswitch transistor Q5. In response, the switching transistor Q5 turns ONcausing an audible output at the speaker P1, as the speaker is connectedin circuit with voltage VDD. In operation, different BEEP signals may beused to generate different audible outputs, for example, a continuousBEEP signal may indicate that the animal has breached the controlboundary or that signal communication between the base and animal unitshas failed, whereas an intermittent or cyclical BEEP signal may indicatea low battery.

In order to reset the microprocessor chip 455, a reset circuit 457 isprovided, as shown in FIG. 12A, having a user accuatable reset switchS6. The user accuatable switch S6 functions to enable the user to resetthe microprocessor and to erase all volatile memory. When switch 456 isclosed a LOW signal is produced over the RESET line to the processor 455to reset the processor.

In order to provide RF communications, the transceiver chip 475 isconnected with at least one output/input antenna 471 and/or 472, asshown in FIG. 13. The output/input antenna may include a pair ofantennas, antenna 1 and antenna 2, that are arranged approximately ahalf wave length apart to ensure that null reception is avoided orminimized at both antennas simultaneously. The transceiver chip 475 isconnected with the antennas through a single pole double throw RFactivation switch 478 provided by chip U9, chip UPG2214TK, which isunder control of the microcontroller 455 in order to activate theantenna that is not at a null or that is receiving the best reception.The switch circuitry 478 is operated or controlled by an inverting logicgate 479 provided by chip U10, chip SN74LVC2G04, which functions toselect one antenna or the other for activation.

The base transceiver unit 400 also includes power supply circuitry 480,as shown in FIGS. 16-19, for supplying power to the operationalcircuitry of the base transceiver unit. The power supply circuitry 480also includes power ON switching circuitry 488, as shown in FIG. 18, forSWITCHING the supply of an operating voltage, such as VDD, on or off tooperating circuitry of the unit 400. A voltage regulator circuitry 600,as shown in FIG. 19, is provided and may potentially be connected withor coupled to the power ON switching circuitry 488, in order to convertone operating voltage, such as VDD or 3.2 volts to another operatingvoltage, such as VCC or 2.5 volts. In operation, the voltage VDD may beused to operate the controller circuitry 450 and the display circuitry490 while voltage VCC is used to operate the transceiver circuitry 470.In order to turn the unit ON, the S1 switch on line PSBT1 may bedepressed for a selected period of time. Optionally, to turn the unit400 OFF, the S1 switch on line PSBT1 may be pressed while the unit is ONand held for a selected extended time period such as five seconds.

Turning now more specifically to the operation of the power supplycircuitry 480, a power jack input 11 in the form of J1, as shown in FIG.16, is provided to enable connection with various external power supplysources. The jack J1 is in turn connected with a fuse F1 which functionsfor the protection of the circuitry from electrical overloads. The F1fuse may be in the form of a self-resetting fuse. A filter 483 isprovided to back filter radio frequency signals from the jack J1 toprevented unwanted signals from being sent back through the jack J1. Thefilter includes capacitors C23 and C24 and inductors L2 and L3. Atransient voltage suppressor ZNR1 is provided optionally in the form ofa ZENER diode to suppress various transient voltages. A rectifier bridge481 is provided in the form of bridge chip BR1 in order to convert an ACinput to a DC output. A buck regulator or variable voltage converter,generally designated 482, is also provided after the bridge 481 toconvert a variable DC voltage input to a desired DC output level. Forexample, the converter 482 may include a converter chip U6, chip LT1616manufactured by Linear Technologies. In operation, the chip may functionto convert a DC input voltage between approximately 6 and 35 voltsdepending on the supply source to a DC output of approximately 5.6volts. The 5.6 voltage output from the converter 482 is utilized tooperate a pair of battery charger circuits 1483 and 484, as shown inFIG. 17. Battery charger 1483 is connected with the output of theconverter 482 to charge a spare battery B2 so that a spare battery isalways available for use in the animal transceiver unit 100. For thispurpose, the battery charges circuit 1483 includes chip U11, chipSTBC08, that is connected with the output of the converter 482 and thebattery receptacle circuitry 483 for connection with BATTERY 2. Theoutput from the battery charger chip 1483 is connected to the battery B2through a fuse PTC2 in the form of a current limiter. The output of theconverter 482, as shown in FIG. 16, is also supplied through a chargecontroller circuit 484, as shown in FIG. 17, which functions to chargebattery B1 at battery receptacle circuit 483, through fuse PTC1 whichfunctions as a current limiter. The charge controller circuit 484 mayinclude a charge controller chip U7, chip LTC4088 manufactured by LinearTechnologies. The charge controller chip U7 also provides an outputvoltage from voltage supplied at input power jack J1 to a converter 485in the form of a converter chip U12, as shown in FIG. 18. The converterU12 may be in the form of a chip LM3674MF manufactured by NationalSemiconductor. The charge control chip U7 also functions to enablevoltage to be supplied to the converter U12 from voltage at battery B1in the event that power is disconnected from or not supplied at jack J1.The converter U12 functions to convert the output from the chargecontroller circuit 484 whether derived from battery B1 or from inputjack J1 to a useable voltage, such as VDD. The nominal output voltagefrom the charge controller chip 484 may be 3.6 to 4.2 volts. Theconverter U12 functions to convert such input voltage to a DC output of3.2 volts or VDD. The 3.2 volt output from the converter 485 is suppliedto the power on switching circuitry 488 so that the voltage VDD may bepower on or off relative to the operational circuitry of the base unit400.

The power on switching circuitry 488 is connected with an on or on/offswitch such as a push button S1 on line PSBT1. When the user pushes thecenter push button S1 on line PSBT1, the gate of switching transistorQ10 draws LOW turning transistor Q10 ON to supply the 3.2 voltage fromthe output of the converter 485 as an output, voltage VDD at pin 2 tothe microprocessor chip 455. When voltage VDD is supplied to themicroprocessor chip, such chip is powered ON and a HIGH power signal issupplied as an output on the POWER line to the gate of switch latchtransistor Q11. When the HIGH power signal is supplied to transistorQ11, transistor Q11 is turned ON thereby latching the gate of Q10 LOWthereby holding the power to the microprocessor ON even when the centerpush button S1 is thereafter released. The output VDD from transistorQ10 at pin 2 is also supplied as an input to voltage regulator circuitry600, as shown in FIG. 19, so that the voltage regulator 600 may convertthe input voltage VDD of 3.2 volts to a useable output voltage VCC of2.5 volts. The convertor 600 may include converter chip U4, chipTPS79425DGN, to convert the input voltage supplied at pin 8 to a desiredoutput voltage at pin 1. In more detail, when the base unit 400 is OFFand S1 is depressed to turn the unit ON, the depression of S1 causes thegate 1 of Q10 switching transistor to go LOW which turns Q10 ON which inturn causes the output of voltage VDD. The output of voltage VDD at pin2 of Q10 turns the controller 455 ON and causes the regulator 600 tooutput voltage VCC to turn the transceiver 470 ON. The controller 455then outputs a HIGH signal on the POWER line which is supplied to thegate 1 of latching transistor Q11 to turn Q11 ON which in turn causesthe gate 1 of switching transistor Q10 to be latched LOW which in turncauses Q10 to remain latched ON even after S1 is released. Once the baseunit 400 is on, the unit may optionally be turned off using S1. Bydepressing S1 when the unit is ON for a selected time period necessaryto effect turn off, such as 5 seconds, the microprocessor 455 willdetect the depression of the switch for the selected time interval andwill cause the POWER line to drop LOW. When the microprocessor causesthe POWER line to go LOW, Q11 will be turned OFF. Q11 will stay OFF andwhen the push button switch S1 is thereafter released the gate of Q10will go HIGH causing Q10 to turn OFF. As a result, Q10 will no longer belatched ON and voltage VDD will not be output at pin 2 of Q10 at thepower switch 488 and consequently voltage VCC will not be produced atthe output of the converter 600.

Diagnostic voltage monitoring circuitry 500, as shown in FIG. 20, mayalso be provided to enable the controller circuitry 450 to monitorselected voltage levels in the circuitry. For example, diagnosticvoltage monitoring circuitry 500 may be provided to monitor a voltagelevel, such as 5.6 volts, used to supply adequate voltage to voltagechargers 484 and 1483 for battery 1 and for battery 2 respectively.Turning to the diagnostic voltage monitoring circuit 500, as shown inFIG. 20, such circuitry is optionally provided and connected at theinput of the charge controller circuitry 484, as shown in FIG. 17, andoptionally to the charger circuit 1483, as shown in FIG. 17, to monitorthe input voltage to the charge controller circuitry 484 and optionallyto the charger circuit 1483. The diagnostic voltage monitoring circuitry500 includes a ZENER diode D7 the functions to clamp the voltage toprevent excess voltage from being supplied to the charge controllercircuitry 484 and the charger circuit 1483. The ZENER diode clamps thevoltage at 6.8 volts. The nominal voltage of about 5.6 volts that issupplied to the charge controller circuit 484 and to the charger circuit1483 is monitored by the microprocessor 455 along line PF1. A switchingtransistor Q12 is connected intermediate the microprocessor 455 and theZENER diode D7 in order to prevent back powering of the microprocessor.More specifically, if VDD from the power switch circuitry is ON,switching transistor Q13 is turned ON which in turn causes Q12 to go ONto allow PF1 to measure the voltage supplied to the charge controllercircuitry 484 and optionally to and the charger unit 1483. If VDD goeslow or off, for example, when the unit is turned off, then Q13 will goOFF which in turn causes Q12 to go OFF and thereby prevents back flow tothe input/output pins of the microprocessor.

Similarly, diagnostic voltage monitoring circuitry 502, as shown in FIG.21, may be provided for monitoring a voltage level of VDD, such as 3.2volts. The diagnostic voltage circuit 502, as shown in FIG. 21, mayoptionally be provided to monitor voltage VDD at line PFO to theprocessor. More specifically, line PFO may be connected to a voltagedivider supplied by voltage VDD so the PFO monitors a fractionalportion, such as ½, of VDD. The components of the circuitry for theanimal transceiver unit 100 are set forth in Table A as follows:

TABLE A PCB PCB, Wifi Receiver C21 Capacitor, 150 uF, 16 V, Tant “D” LowESR 150 mohms C6, C13 Capacitor, .01 uF 0603 10% X7R 50 v C5, 8, 14, 15,16, 17, 25, Capacitor, .1 uF 50 v ceramic Y5V 28, 29 0603 −20%, +80%C11, C12 Capacitor, 22 pF ceramic 50 v NPO 5% 0603 C23 Capacitor, 1.0 uFceramic 25 v X5S 0603 20% C24 Capacitor, ceramic 1000 pF 50 v COG 06035% C7, C20 Capacitor, 22 uF 6.3 v Tant “B” 10% C18 Capacitor, 220 uF 4 vTant “B” 20% C26 Capacitor, 4.7 uF 6.3 v X5R 0603 10% R26-29, R31, R50,R53 Resistor, 2M 1/10 w 1% 0603 R3, R33, R56, R60, R61 Resistor, 14.3K1/10 w 1% 0603 R19, 21, 22, 35, 36, 39-43, Resistor, 1.1M, 1% 060345-47, 51, 52, 54, 55, 57 R58, R59 Resistor, 100K 5% 0603 R1 Resistor,10K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R49 Resistor, 100 ohm 1/10 w 5% 0603 R2 Resistor,4.99 ohm 1/10 w 1% 0603 R18, R30, R44 Resistor, 33K, 1%, 0603 R20Resistor, 3.9K, 1%, 0603 R25 Resistor, 221K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R24 Resistor,412K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R23 Resistor, 620K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R48 Resistor, 10M1/10 w 1% 0603 U5 nanoPAN_5375 U1 IC, Atmega644PV-10AU AVR MCU 64K 10MHZ 3 V 44TQFP U4 IC, Regulator, LDO RF High-Enable 250-mA MSOP8,TPS79425DGN U8, U9 IC AMP, LMP2231 SOT-23-5 U6 IC CONV DC/DC STEP UP8MSOP LT1316 MS8 Q2-Q5, Q7 MOSFET N-CHAN 20 V 1.7 A SOT-23, FDN335N U7Transistor, IRF7459 20 V 12 A SO8 Single N Mosfet, SO-8 Q6 MOSFET P-CHAN12 V 2.6 A SOT-23, (SSOT-3) FDN306P A1 Antenna Chip 2.3 GHz WiMAX(Antenova) L1 Inductor, 10 nH, 650 mA, 0603, 5% L2 Inductor, 1.5 nH 0402+/− 0.2 nH L3 Inductor, 100 uH .54 A SMD, CDRH6D28 TF1 Transformer, HIRel D3 Diode, Switch, 1N4148, 100 v, 150 mA, SOD123 D1 Diode, Schottky20 v 0.5 A SOD-123 MBR0520L Y2 CRYSTAL 7.3728 MHZ 20 PF SMD VS1 Minisense horizontal vibration-sensor P1 Speaker, PC mount, TDB03PNL, 2 v −5v, 12 mm B- CFR Battery contactThe components of the circuitry for the base transceiver unit 400 areset forth in Table B as follows:

TABLE B PCB PCB, Wifi Transmitter C23, C24 Capacitor, 1000 pF 25 V 10%X7R 0603 C6, C13, C29 Capacitor, .01 uF 0603 10% X7R 50 v C1-5, C8,C14-17, 19, 21, 37, Capacitor, .1 uF 50 v ceramic Y5V 40, 41, 43 0603−20%, +80% C7 Capacitor, 2.2 uF ceramic 10 v X5R 0603 10% C18, C38, C39Capacitor, 100 pF microwave 150 v COG 0605 5% C11 C12, Capacitor, 22 pFceramic 50 v NPO 0603 5% C20 Capacitor, .47 uF ceramic 10 v X5R 0603 10%C25 Capacitor, 470 uF 35 v Alum elect radial, 20% LS.197 10 × 16 mm C26,C28 Capacitor, 1.0 uF ceramic 25 v X5S 0603 20% C27 Capacitor, 22 uF 16v 20% Tant “D” 7343-31 C30 Capacitor, 47 uF 25 v 20% Tant “D” 7343-31C42 Capacitor, 10 uF 25 v 20% Tant “B” 3528 C44, C45 Capacitor, 33 pFceramic 50 v COG 0603 5% C46 Capacitor 10 uF ceramics 10 V X5R 20% 1206R29, R47, R48, R54 Resistor, 2M 1% 0603 R44, R45, R66 Resistor, 1K, 5%0603 R2, R3, R33, R77 Resistor, 14.3K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R35, 36, 39-42, 51,59, 62, Resistor, 1.1Meg, 0603 1% 68, 76 R53, R55, 63, 64, 69-75,Resistor, 100K 5% 0603 78-82, 84 R43, R50 Resistor, 360 ohm, 1% 0805 R1,R58 Resistor, 10K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R4 Resistor, 4.7K 1/10 w 5% 0603 R57Resistor, 33K, 1/10 w 1%, 0603 R30 Resistor, 2.94K 1/10 w 5% 0603 R61,R65 Resistor, 4.02K 1/10 w 1% 0603 R60 Resistor, 8.2 1/10 w 1% 0603 R56,R85 Resistor, 560K, 1/10 w 1%, 0603 U5 nanoPAN_5375 U1 IC, Atmega128,AVR MCU 128K 8 MHZ 3 V 64TQFP U2, U3 IC, TXRX DUAL 4BIT SN74AVC4T245,16-TSSOP U4 IC, Regulator, LDO RF High-Enable 250-mA MSOP8, TPS79425DGNU6 IC SW REG STEP-DN 1.4 MHZ SOT23- 6, LT1616 U9 IC SWITCH SPDT6-MINIMOLD, UPG2214TK U10 IC dual inverter SC-70-6, SN74LVC2G04 U7 ICBattery charger 14-DFN, LTC4088EDE#TRPBF U11 IC Battery charger LI-ION800 MA DFN6, STBC08PMR U12 IC conv DC/DC 600 mA ADJV SOT23- 5,LM3674MF-ADJ/NOPB Q5, Q6, Q7, Q11, Q13 MOSFET N-CHAN 20 V 1.7 A SOT-23,FDN335N (SI2302DS T/R 0) Q10, Q12 MOSFET P-CHAN 12 V 2.6 A SOT-23,(SSOT-3) FDN306P L1 Inductor, 10 nH, 650 mA, 0603, 5% L2, L3 Inductor,1.8 uH, 650 mA, 3 mm × 3 mm, 20%

Operation of the Base Transceiver Unit

Referring to FIG. 25A, there is illustrated a flowchart diagrammingselected methods of using the base transceiver unit 400. The basetransceiver 400 is first initialized at step 1200. During the process ofinitialization, the system may engage in self-diagnostics to determinethat all hardware and software are functioning property. The base 400may display diagnostic information of some format to the user on LCDscreen 492. At step 1200, the base 400 also retrieves any saved stateinformation (such as previously saved pairings with collar transceiver100, maximum distance boundaries, etc) from memory. At step 1205, thesystem determines if it is currently paired with a collar transceiver100. If the base 400 is not paired with any collars, it may prompt theuser to pair with one or more collar transceivers 100 at step 1210. If acollar is already paired with base 400, the user may choose to pairanother collar 100 with base 400. If the user does attempt a pairingbetween the base 400 and a collar 100, the base 400 will display to theuser whether or not the pairing is successful. During the process ofpairing a collar transceiver 100 to the base 400, the base 400 guidesthe user through the process of battery installation whereby base 400and collar transceiver 100 then automatically pair. Once one or morecollar transceivers 100 are paired with the base 400, the base 400begins the main programming loop at step 1215. Once the main programmingloop of the base 400 is initialized, the base begins to listen forcollar information at step 1220. The information sent from the collarsmay include collar identification information, distance between collartransceiver 100 and the base 400, the battery level of collar 100,whether or not collar 100 is out of bounds, the currently setcorrectional stimulus level of collar 100, or any other informationcollected by collar 100. This information may be stored in memory bybase 400. Next, at step 1225, base 400 determines if collar 100 istransmitting an alert condition signal. These conditions may include anyinformation from the collar 100 that may be of interest to the user,such as a low battery level, a lost signal between base 400 and collar100, or a collar located outside of the previously determined maximumdistance. It may also be a condition detected by the base, such as aloss of communication between base 400 and collar 100. If an alertcondition is detected by base 400, the base 400 then determines at step1230 if the alert condition has been either acknowledged by the user orif the condition is no longer valid (such as if the collar has movedback within the predetermined boundary). If the alert condition has notbeen acknowledged by the user (such as through a key press on base 400)and the condition is still valid, the base 400 displays the collar alertcondition on the LCD at step 1232. The base 400 may also alert the userthrough blinking lights, an audible alarm, or through some other method.If no alert conditions are detected or the alert condition has eitherbeen acknowledged by the user or the condition is no longer valid, thebase transceiver advances to step 1235 and detects whether or not theuser is attempting to access a system menu. This may be indicated by theuser through a keypress. If the user is not attempting to access themenu, the base 400 displays current status on the LCD 492 at step 1240.The current status information may include the collar 100's name,battery level, distance from base, current boundary distance, basebattery levels, or other indicators. The base station then advances tostep 1245 and restarts the main programming loop at step 1215. If base400 determines that the user is attempting to access a menu at step1235, then at step 1250 the base begins to process further keypresses.

Beginning at step 1251, as shown in FIG. 25B, the base 400 determineswhich of a list of potential actions the user is attempting to perform.First, at step 1251, the base 400 determines if the user is attemptingto add or delete a collar 100 from the system's pairing list. If this isthe case, the base 400 moves to step 1252 and prompts the user to add ordelete a collar 100. If the user adds or deletes a collar 100, the base400 then performs the appropriate steps to add or delete the collar 100and then moves back to step 1215 and begins the main loop again. If theuser cancels the act of adding or deleting a collar 100, or the user isnot attempting to add or delete a collar, the base 400 moves to step1253, where it determines if the user is attempting to set the shocklevel of the collar. If this is the case, base 400 moves to step 1254and prompts the user to set the shock level for the collar 100 Once thisis complete, base 400 reinitializes the main loop at step 1215. If theuser cancels the attempt to set the shock level of the collar, or theuser is not trying to do so, the base 400 moves on to step 1255, whereit determines if the user is attempting to set a boundary level. If theuser is attempting to do so, it advances to step 1256 and prompts theuser to set a boundary. The base 400 then saves the new boundaryinformation and reinitializes the main loop at step 1215. If the user isnot attempting to set a boundary, or the user cancels a confirmedattempt to set the boundary, the system moves to step 1257. Here, thebase 400 attempts to determine if the user wishes to calibrate. If theuser does wish to calibrate, the system advances to step 1258 andperforms calibration routines. This may include actions on the user'spart, such as moving the collar at predetermined distances in order forthe base 400 to properly calibrate its distance calculation andcommunications settings. From here, the system reinitializes the mainloop at step 1215. If the user is not attempting to calibrate thesystem, or the user cancels the calibration step, base 400 advances tostep 1259 to determine if the user wishes to change the measurementunits display (for example, from meters to feet). If this is the case,base 400 advances to step 1260 and changes the settings of the displayunits, optionally displaying a list of choices on LCD 492. Once this iscomplete, the system advances to step 1215. If the user cancels theunits selection process, or the user is not attempting to change displayunits of the base, it advances to step 1261, where the base 400determines if the user is attempting to display the version of thesoftware. If this is the case, step 1262 activates the display of theversion of the software on LCD screen 492 and reinitializes the mainloop 1215. If this is not the case, the system determines if the user isattempting to reset the device at step 1263. If the user is attemptingto reset the device, the system may prompt the user to confirm theresetting of the device. Upon confirmation (if applicable), the systemclears the EEPROM of the system at step 1264, erasing all storedsettings and data except for the default calibration data. From here,the system returns to step 1210, initialization. If no at step 1263, orif the user cancels, base 400 calculates if it should exit the menu atstep 1266. This may be indicated by a user's keypress. If so, base 400restarts the main loop at step 1215. If this is not the case, the systemreturns to step 1250, again waiting for user input.

Operation of the Animal Transceiver Unit

Referring to FIG. 26A there is illustrated a flowchart diagramming theselected methods of using the base transceiver unit 400. Collar 100begins the initialization process at step 1300. Here, the collarretrieves any previously saved states (which may include storedpairings, shock levels, or maximum boundary distances). Once collar 100has initialized, the collar moves to step 1305 to initialize acommunication standard. After step 1305, the collar moves to step 1310,where it begins the process of waiting for a pairing message from base400. During this process, the collar 100 checks to determine if it hasreceived a pairing message from base 400 at step 1315. This is to allowthe collar to be re-paired with base 400. If the collar does not receivea pairing message from base 400, it checks to determine if pairinginformation for the collar and a base 400 has already been stored inEEPROM at step 1320. If there is no pairing information already inEEPROM, the collar restarts the loop at step 1310. If the collar doeshave pairing information, which may consist of a MAC address of the basestation, stored in EEPROM, it retrieves this information at step 1325.Collar 100 then advances to step 1335, where it initializes the collarto the MAC address of the base 400, triggering the start of the mainloop at step 1340. If the collar does receive a pairing message at step1315, the system instead retrieves the MAC address of base 400 at step1330, and advances to step 1335 to begin the main loop at step 1340.

From the main loop at step 1340, the collar goes through a series ofsteps, as shown in FIG. 26B, to determine various states of the collar,such as the distance of the collar from the base or whether the base 400is issuing an instruction. At step 1345, the collar retrieves ranginginformation from the base 400 which includes the distance between thebase and the collar. The ranging information is then used at step 1350to determine whether the collar 100 has exceeded the set boundarydistance. If the collar determines that it is outside of the previouslyset boundary, the collar then advances to step 1351 to determine whetheror not a failsafe has been reached. This failsafe may include the numberof correctional stimuli delivered, level of stimulation, or time elapsedoutside of the predetermined boundary. If the failsafe has not beenreached, the collar 100 advances to step 1352 where a correctionalstimulus is issued. Once the stimulus is activated, a clock is used totime the milliseconds of correction at step 1353. The duration of thestimulus may vary depending on variables such as user settings, level ofcorrectional stimulus, or number of stimuli previously issued. If thefailsafe has been reached at step 1351, the collar continues to step1355. If the collar is determined to be within the predetermineddistance to base 400 at step 1350, the collar resets the failsafevariable at step 1354 and advances to step 1355. At step 1355, thecollar 100 determines whether or not to check the battery levels on thedevice. This may occur as a result of a user-determined interval orautomatically. If a battery check is necessary, the collar advances tostep 1360, where it gets the battery level of the collar. Thisinformation, along with other information such as distance between thecollar 100 and base 400, whether the collar is out of bounds, and theshock level of the collar, is then sent to base 400 at step 1365. Thecollar may also determine whether it is moving (such as due to ananimal's movement), and adjust transmission time accordingly. At step1370, the collar listens for any commands that may be sent to it frombase 400. These commands may include a reset command, a boundaryadjustment command, a shock level adjustment command, or a decouplingcommand. At step 1375, the collar 100 determines whether or not it hasreceived a base command. If the collar 100 receives a command, itadvances to step 1376 and performs the command. The collar 100 may senda confirmation or error message to base 400 to indicate if the commandwas successfully completed. Once the command is completed, an errormessage has been sent, or the collar 100 determines that it is notreceiving a command from base 400, the collar advances to step 1380,where it checks whether or not the collar is approaching or has exceededthe boundary distance between the base and the collar. If neithercondition is true, the collar then goes into a sleep mode at step 1385,powering down the radio transceiver for a predetermined interval andlengthening the time between communications with base 400. If collar 100determines that it is approaching or has exceeded the boundary distance,it increases the sampling frequency at step 1387 to increase theprecision of the ranging feature. Next, the collar re-initializes themain loop at step 1390 and starts again at step 1340.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring and restraining themovement of an animal, comprising: a. a base for transmitting andreceiving signals; b. a collar for placement at the animal in signalcommunication with the base and configured to transmit and receivesignals to and from the base at a selected frequency of communication;c. a controller in communication with at least one of the base andcollar configured to provide a reference control distance from the baseand a system range limit from the base, the controller having circuitryconfigured to calculate the distance between the collar and the baseusing time of flight transmissions between the collar and the base, andwherein at least one of the collar and the base is configured toincrease the frequency of communication if the animal approaches atleast one of the reference control distance and system range limit; andd. a stimulus circuit configured to provide a stimulus to the animal inresponse to a control signal produced by one of the base and collar;wherein at least one of the base and collar are configured to transmitthe control signal to the stimulus circuit when the distance between thecollar and the base meet a criteria for control.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the collar comprises a collar transceiver unit configured totransmit signals to and/or receive signals from the base.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein the base comprises a base transceiver unitconfigured to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from thecollar.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the base comprises a basecontroller circuit.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the base includesa user input to enable a user to input information to the basetransceiver unit under the control of the base controller circuit. 6.The system of claim 5, wherein the base controller circuit functions toenable the reference control distance to be input to the basetransceiver unit at the user input.
 7. The system of claim 4, whereinthe base transceiver unit and the base controller circuit areelectronically connected relative to one another, and wherein the basetransceiver unit operates at a digital signal level that is differentfrom the digital signal level of operation of the base controllercircuit, and wherein further the base transceiver unit includes aconverter for converting the digital signal level of operation of thebase transceiver circuit relative to the digital signal level ofoperation of the base controller circuit to enable signal communicationbetween the base transceiver unit and the base controller circuit. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the signals comprise wireless radiofrequency signals.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the base hascircuitry configured to adjustably set the reference control distance orthe system range limit from the base.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinat least one of the collar and the base is configured to increase thefrequency of communication if the animal exceeds at least one of thereference control distance and system range limit.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the stimulus comprises an electric shock, an audiblealarm, or a combination thereof.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein thestimulus circuitry is adjustable to produce selected levels of stimulusto the animal.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the reference controldistance is less than the system range limit.
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein the base comprises a base output for providing outputinformation to a user, and wherein the base output provides outputinformation reflecting an indicia of the relative distance between thebase and the collar to the user.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein thebase output includes a display for providing a visual display of outputinformation to the user.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the baseoutput includes an audible output for providing an audible indication ifthe collar approaches or exceeds at least one of the reference controldistance and system range limit.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein thebase transceiver unit includes base power supply circuitry for supplyingpower to the base transceiver unit.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinthe base power supply circuitry includes a battery receptacle forbatteries to supply power to the base transceiver unit to enable thebase transceiver to be portably movable by a user.
 19. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the base power supply circuitry includes a jack forconnection with an external source of power.